


A Very Super Christmas

by CartoonAddict564



Category: DC Super Hero Girls (Web Series 2015)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21625858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonAddict564/pseuds/CartoonAddict564
Summary: Temporarily stuck at Super Hero High over the winter break, Batgirl is stunned to learned that several of her alien classmates have never had a big Christmas celebration and some don't even know what the holiday is! She thus vows to show her friends Starfire, Raven, Big Barda, and Kara Zor-El all the joys of Christmas. But when Batgirl's efforts go slightly awry, it may be up to Batgirl's rambunctious roommate Harley Quinn--for whom every day is practically a holiday already--to help Barbara understand how she can best present the idea of Christmas to her friends.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	A Very Super Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kitsune_Scribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Scribe/gifts).



Normally, Barbara Gordon was not what anyone would call a 'morning person.' She was in the habit of staying at her workbench deep into the night while she worked on her gizmos and gadgets, and even though she usually managed to finally drag herself to bed an hour or two before dawn actually broke, getting her out of bed just a couple hours later was quite a difficult task (though one her boisterous roommate, a certain Harleen Quinzel, seemed to take as a personal challenge). But the current day was certainly not a normal one, and when Barbara's eyes snapped open in response to her alarm, she almost jumped out of bed as a big grin formed on her face. "It's Christmastime!" she yelled to nobody in particular. "Pow! Holiday on!"

"Wuzzah?" Barbara briefly glanced to one side and saw Harley blearily rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What's all the commotion, Babsie?" she managed. "Darkseid try to take over again?"

"No, it's Christmastime!" said Barbara, rushing to her roommate and fixing her with a slightly maniacal smile. "Classes are over, most of the teachers went home, and now we can celebrate Christmas!" She began to pace. "I've got everything planned. Tree decorating, shopping for gifts, caroling, everything. I've worked out a schedule which is scientifically optimized to ensure that my Super Hero High Christmas is the best holiday ever!"

Harleen blinked. "I... didn't know it worked like that. Are you sure?"

"Am I'm sure?" chuckled Batgirl. "That's like asking if I'm sure apples are red. Or that Kryptonians can fly on Earth. Or that vanadium has an atomic mass of 50 point 9-4-1-5." Harleen gave Barbara a blank stare at the last one, and Batgirl sighed. "Yes, Harleen. I'm equally sure of all of those things." 

"Oh." Harleen still looked puzzled. "But aren't you going home, though?" she asked. "I thought I was the only one sticking around here. Well, me and the aliens, anyways."

Barbara shook her head. "My Dad's on some big undercover thing in Star City--some detective there, Mack Morgan, thinks they can finally nail that Deathstroke guy--and he won't be done until Christmas, so I decided I'd spent the first part of winter break here and then pick him up in the Batjet before flying us both back to Gotham. Then we'll have a few days with Mom and my friends back home before I head back here. And-wait, what aliens? And you said you're not leaving either?"

"Nah, I can't leave Super Hero High for a month--I'm on some stupid probation. Apparently the Mayor gets real mad if someone wrecks his limo while in the process of stopping Killer Croc from robbing a bank. Barbara winced, and Harleen shrugged. "Yeah, it sucks, How was I supposed to know he was in the limo with his secret girlfriend then? Or that all the papers would see them crawling out of the wrecked car, or that his wife would flip out when she saw the photos and leave him for that baseball player?"

"Uh..." Batgirl began.

"Anyways as for the aliens, I know Big Bards is hanging around here all Christmas--she said if she went back to Apokolips Granny Goodness would flip--and Stars and Rave are staying too. And Super-Duper Girl."

Batgirl frowned. "Supergirl, really? They don't celebrate Christmas in Smallville?" 

"Guess somethin' came up." Harleen shrugged.

Barbara looked towards the door of their dorm room and frowned. "Hang on a sec, will you, Harl?"

"Hey, I ain't goin' anywhere, that's for sure."

Barbara left the room and went into the common area. As she'd expected, it was mostly deserted, with the rest of the students having left for their own hometowns--or countries, or planets--the previous day. But near the center of the room there were four girls sitting at a table and playing some kind of card game. "Hey girls!" called Barbara as she approached them. "You're staying here?"

Big Barda, who was staring at the cards in her hand as if trying to discover some hidden message, looked up. "Oh, hey Barbara. Yeah, I'm sticking around. Can't exactly go back to Apokolips. And it's not like they have 'holidays' there anyways, at least not like on Earth."

"What are holidays like on Apokolips?" asked Supergirl, who was sitting across from her. "And--got any threes?"

"Go fishing," said Big Barda. "And holidays there sucked. They were all about Darkseid, like his birthday or the day he took over his first continent, and the 'celebrations' were these big gladiatorial fights to the death. The only gift was, if you won enough fights, you got to personally sacrifice the loser to Darkseid's greater glory."

Batgirl blanched. "That's awful!"

Big Barda raised an eyebrow. "Pretty typical for Apokolips. Besides, it wasn't all bad. I remember once when Lashina and I found a hiding place and defended each other until the games were over. It was kind of a good feeling, knowing there was someone who had my back, even for just a day."

"Still," said Batgirl. "That's hardly a good example of a holiday. What about you three? Have any of you celebrated Christmas, or other holidays, before?"

The third member of the table, Raven, raised an eyebrow. "My father is a demon," she drawled. "Christmas was pretty strictly banned where I'm from. In fact, so were all other holidays. His view was that celebrating was just a waste of time that could be used learning how to take over the world and crush all human resistance." She looked down, only for the fourth player, Starfire, to put down her hand and rush over to give her a comforting hug. "It wasn't really a joyful place."

"That is awful, friend Raven!" announced Starfire. "But worry not. I have learned that Earth is different, with many holidays to enjoy. Or, if you wish, I could teach you how we Tamaranians celebrate!" She grinned. "For instance, next week is our Feast of Knowledge, in which all Tamaranians listen to forty consecutive hours of ancient poetry so we can appreciate how wise our people are!" Her eyes grew distant. "During my last holiday at home, I was with my kannifster Blackfire as our parents recited glorious poetry for two days and two nights..."

"That sounds even worse than Raven's thing," said Big Barda.

Starfire blushed. "Well... I do admit it can become a little tedious, at least without a kannifster there to liven things up..."

Supergirl laughed. "I like Tamaranian poetry," she said. "But forty hours does sound like a lot."

"What about you, Kara?" Batgirl asked. "Aren't you going home?"

"No reason to. Christmas was always a really private thing for us--just me and the Kents being together. But this year they're away building a Habitats for Humanity house that ran a little longer than they hoped. I said I could fly out to see them, but they said they have to focus on getting the house done so the family they're helping can move in and get off the street before the weather gets even worse. And I can't even help with the house because I'm not licensed for construction." Supergirl sighed. "I get why they have to make sure everybody's licensed, ever since that time let Booster Gold try to help and he almost knocked over the house showing his powers off to some girl, but... well, yeah. The Kents will be busy, and I didn't want to just hang around an empty house, so I'm staying here instead."

Batgirl was silent for a few moments. "So... none of you have ever done any big-city Christmas stuff? Caroling, shopping in the huge malls, things like that?" 

The other girls all shook their heads.

A smile came to Barbara's face. "Well, that stops now," she said. "I'm here for a few more days, and I've already created a schedule for a perfect Christmas. If you girls want to come with me when I r through it, I'll show you how awesome Christmas is." She hopped onto a chair. "I'll make sure you get the full experience. And by the time I'm done, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it."

Starfire clasped her hands together. "That sounds most enjoyable, friend Barbara! I would love to learn about your holiday!"

"Yeah," said Raven. "Anything that ticked dad off can't be all bad. I'd like to know more too."

Big Barda tossed down her cards. "Count me in too. I mean, why not? Can't be any more boring than just sitting around here."

Batgirl looked back to Supergirl, who seemed slightly hesitant. But then the Kryptonian nodded. "Sounds good," she said. "When do we start?"

"In just a minute," Batgirl said. "Just gotta do one last thing first."

She rushed back to her room and beamed at Harleen. "Hey, great news," she said. "I'm going to show the others what Christmas is, and we're going to have a little celebration here, okay? So don't worry. We'll make sure you have a fun Christmas too."

"Uh... thanks, but I--" Harleen began.

But Batgirl had already spun on her heel and rushed back to the other girls in the common area. "So what are we waiting for?" she chirped with a huge smile on her face. "Let's start with Step 1 of the perfect Christmas: getting gifts for your friends and family!" 

#

Batgirl had seen her share of crowds at Metropolis's biggest mall before, but when she landed the Batjet next to the parking lot and stepped outside, even she felt slightly overwhelmed. There were massive hordes of people streaming into and out of the mall from all exits, and according to the sophisticated sensor equipment in her Oracle app, the mall was so full of people that the fire marshal would be able to cite it for violations.

"Oh my!" gasped Starfire as she landed next to Batgirl, her hair slightly askew from the flight. She was grinning even more brightly than she usually was at the end of a quick flight, and her face practically shone with joy. "Truly there must be great treasures inside this mall for so many people to go shopping at once!"

"Huh. Malls." Barbara glanced behind her to see Big Barda climbing out of the Batjet's back seat. Behind her, Raven and Supergirl also landed and stared at the sight before them. "Never got the point. On Apokolips, our trainers gave us everything they thought we needed. Said trying to get anything else was just being 'frivolous.'"

"Well, your trainers were jerks," said Barbara. "One of the best parts of Christmas is going to the mall and finding the perfect gifts for all your friends. Now come on, we've got to get shopping before all the good stuff is gone!"

As she led them inside, Supergirl blanched slightly. "I've never seen a mall this crowded," she murmured. "I think there's more people here than in all of Smallville."

Barbara grinned. "There being lots of people is part of the fun too! It's a lot easier to get in the holiday mood when everyone around you is full of holiday joy too!"

"Mom!" screamed a little kid who was standing a few feet to the left of the heroes. "I said I wanted the blue action figure! This one's cerulean!" He threw the figure down. "CERULEAN!"

The other superheroes looked at Batgirl, who blushed. "Well, almost everyone," she said, just before they reached the sliding doors and she was able to usher them inside.

The crowds were even thicker inside the mall than they'd been out in the parking area, and the heroes quickly found themselves pressed on all sides. Raven irritably shoved away a person who was carrying a box so large that he couldn't see where he was going and who almost stepped into her, then frowned at Batgirl. "You really find this fun?" she called, having to yell to be heard over the crowd.

"Oh, yeah!" Batgirl yelled back. "Just follow me!"

She managed to get the group to a large mall directory, next to which was a huge stack of fliers. "Okay," she said. "Here's the map. So what we'll do now is figure out which stores sell the kinds of things our friends would like, then go to those stores and buy them!" Her eyes gleamed. "I already came up with a little algorithm to do my own shopping, but if you all have advice I'd be happy to hear it."

The other girls looked at each other. "Little algorithm?" Supergirl asked.

Barbara blushed. "Well, okay, maybe not so little. See, I worked out the best route through the mall which hits all the stores I need in the least time, and also allows for stops at the food court, the cinnamon roll stand, and the rooftop park to get fresh air. First, I calculated it'd be best to start at Computer King to get stuff for the tech people like Cyborg and Bumblebee, then to go to the party supplies store to get gifts for Harley and Beast Boy, and so on. So that's what I'll be doing, but you girls of course can come up with your own routes. Maybe we all split up to do our shopping and meet back here in an hour?"

Starfire peered at the directory. "Everybody likes sunshine and rainbows," she said at last. "So I will go to the Sunshine Agency and buy all my gifts there!"

Batgirl blinked. "Uh... I think that's a travel agency, Starfire. I don't--"

"Why do we need to split up?" Raven asked. "Just tell me where we're going and I'll use a portal to send us all there at once. That way we can skip the crowds."

"We can't go together," Batgirl said. "Because then we'll see what we're getting each other. It's supposed to be a surprise!"

"So?" Raven asked. "Wouldn't it make sense for us to know what we're getting each other, so if we don't like something we can tell the other person so they know to look for something else?"

Batgirl hesitated. "But... but the surprise!"

Big Barda, meanwhile, was paging through the flyer. "This stuff is all lame, though," she said. "It's all, like, colored rocks and stupid clothes that wouldn't be any good in a fight." She showed the others a picture of a frilly dress. "How could anyone fight off assassins wearing this?"

"That's not exactly the point," began Batgirl. "I mean... look, there's a martial arts store over that way, right? Don't you think any of our friends might like something from there?"

Barda perused the flyer and soon found the entry for that store. "Oh, yeah," she said. "Yeah! I bet Katana would love one of these fancy sword whetstones, and Lady Shiva told me she needed a new set of nunchuks."

"Great!" Barbara enthused. "So you can buy her those things. Now, it says here in the flyer that the nunchuks are a limited edition item, and if too many other people get there before you the store might run out. So you should go there first."

"Run out?" Big Barda slowly smiled. "Oh, I get it. It's kind of like a race, right? I have to get my gifts before all these other guys buy all the good stuff."

"Er, sort of," said Batgirl. "Okay, that's your first stop. Now, Kara, what should--"

Big Barda smacked her right fist into her left palm. "No worries. I learned how to race on Apokolips. Sometimes Granny Goodness would be all, 'only the first ten Furies to make it home get dinner tonight,' and Lashina and I trained each other until we always got home in time. I've got this, Barbara." 

Batgirl raised a hand to object, but then Big Barda let out a loud shout and charged into the crowds around them. 

It was like watching a championship football linebacker plowing through a bad high school team. As Batgirl and the others rushed after Big Barda, they saw people go flying in all directions as Barda smashed through them, knocked them to the side, or simply ran them over. Once, when Barda grabbed a guy by his collar and hurled him to one side, Starfire had to rush forwards and catch him before he smashed into a Christmas tree and knocked it over on a mall Santa.

"Big Barda! Stop!" called Batgirl. "This isn't what I meant!"

But there was no stopping here, and it was all Batgirl and her friends could do to keep up with her as she plowed into the martial arts store. When Batgirl got inside a few seconds later, she saw a dozen stunned or dazed customers sprawled on the ground, and a triumphant Barda holding the nunchuks and whetstone she'd wanted.

"Did I do it right?" asked the smiling Barda as the salesgirl crawled out from under her counter, still shaking. "Did I win Christmas?"

As security guards began to rush into the store behind the heroes, Batgirl sighed. "Not exactly."

#

"I can't believe we got banned from the mall for a whole month!" griped Batgirl from the cockpit of the Batjet. "That mall has the best stores in town. Where are we going to get gifts now?"

"Sorry," grumbled Big Barda. "Guess I screwed that up."

Batgirl forced herself to let out a stressed breath. "Don't worry about it," she said. "You're new on Earth, that's not your fault."

"But does this mean we can't do Christmas?" Barda asked.

"No," said Batgirl in an insistent tone. "We'll just go all-out on all the other Christmas stuff. Don't worry. I'm going to make sure that you and all the others have a great Christmas."

They reached the next destination, a large wooded lot just outside of Metropolis proper, and Barda frowned as Batgirl began to land. "So what are we doing now, exactly?"

"We're getting what we need for one of the most distinctive parts of Christmas: decorating a Christmas tree!" Batgirl grinned, the mess at the mall mostly forgotten, as she touched down. "And to decorate a tree, obviously you need a tree to start with. So here we are!"

The two climbed out of the jet as Supergirl, Starfire, and Raven landed next to them. Batgirl swept her arm over the lot, which contained hundreds of trees. "Alright, girls. Let's find the perfect tree for Christmas!"

"What makes a tree perfect?" asked Raven. "What are we looking for?"

"You know, big enough that we can put a lot of decorations on it, wide enough that we can fit a lot of gifts under it, bright green enough that it looks festive, no blotches or ugly parts... that kind of thing."

Raven stared at her, then gestured at a random tree. "Okay. That one."

"...why that one?" Barbara frowned at the selection, which was small and drooped a bit. "It's kind of lame, don't you think?"

"They're all trees." Raven frowned. "Seriously. Maybe it's just because I grew up in a dimension without any plants, but I can't tell any differences between them. What does it matter which one we pick?"

"But picking out the best tree is part of the fun!" Batgirl insisted. "I... okay, uh, Starfire, do you have any thoughts?"

Starfire nodded and flew to one of the biggest ones. "I like this one!" she said. "It reminds me of the treehouse that me and my kannifster Blackfire built one year!"

"It's pretty big," said Barda. "And wide. And green."

"It reminds me of the one Ma and Pa put up last year!" added Supergirl.

Batgirl let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Okay, great, we have a tree. Let's get it home and decorate it!"

Supergirl carried the tree back to Super Hero High, and after some discussion of how to get it inside without smashing it through the doors, Raven sullenly used a portal to teleport it into the common area. Batgirl frowned when she saw how Raven still looked depressed, but she vowed to push on. "Now we just put on decorations," she said. "Things that look pretty and are, uh, holiday-esque. So ornaments, baubles, things like that."

Starfire grinned. "I have just the things!" she announced. "Some of the decorations from the last Feast of Friendship and Feast of Knowledge I celebrated on Tamaran!"

"Great, why don't you go get them?" asked Barbara. As Starfire flew off, she turned to the others. "Anything else?"

"Well... I have this ceramic angel Ma got me two years ago," Supergirl said, blushing slightly as she spoke. "She said it reminded her of me. We always put it on top of the tree. I've got it with me; I could get it?"

"Perfect!" Barbara enthused as Supergirl too went back to her room. "Alright, now--"

"I am back!" 

Barbara turned to see Starfire--and, in her arms, a bunch of writhing, orange-brown objects that looked almost like worms. Her stomach clenched at the disgusting sight. "What are those?" she managed.

"The decorations!" Starfire began stabbing some of the worms onto the tree branches, causing a foul-smelling green ichor to spurt out. "During the Feasts of Knowledge and Friendship, these larvae are mounted on the wall behind each guest in specific patterns that describe the guest. For instance, when you stack up these four and then put this one to the left, it means 'beloved daughter,' and so my father put it behind me during my last celebration with him." She stabbed an especially fat larva onto the tree, and the spurt of ichor almost drenched Barbara. "Would you like me to teach you the patterns?"

"Uh..." Barbara was finding it hard to breathe through the stink. "That's... that's alright, Starfire. Maybe we'll put those on a different tree."

Starfire's face fell. "You don't like them?"

"No," said Raven. "No we don't."

Before Starfire could respond, Supergirl flew back in with a small ceramic angel. Not seeming to notice the stench, she just flew up to the top of the tree and set the angel there. "How's this?" she called down to Batgirl.

"Good!" Batgirl let out a sigh of relief now that one thing had gone right. "Okay, let's get Starfire's... things... down, and then--"

"Raven?" Big Barda suddenly called. "What's wrong?"

Everyone turned to her as Raven began to shake. Her skin crackled, and she abruptly fell off the chair, only to be caught by Starfire just before she hit the ground. "Put it away!" she managed as her body began to convulse. "It hurts!"

"Put what away?" Starfire asked.

"The ornament!" Raven yelled. "Trigon--anyone of his demonic blood is cursed! We can't be near--" she bit back a cry as her body convulsed again. "Depictions of angels or anything like that, or--"

Batgirl was already turning towards the tree, but before she could move, Starfire blasted the angel with a sphere of energy. The ornament shattered, and the tree itself fell over as the energy set its upper branches on fire. Then Big Barda was there, smashing the tree's top into fine powder while also stamping out the flames.

When the chaos was over, everyone looked at Barbara, except for Supergirl, who was just looking sadly at the remains of her ornament. Batgirl blushed. "Well... maybe we can at least fix the tree, and..."

Big Barda tried to pick the tree up, but she'd hit it too hard and its entire upper third was powder. All that remained was a charred stump and a few scraggly branches.

Batgirl sighed. "Or maybe not."

#

"Now what are we doing?" complained Raven. She had started feeling better as soon as the angel was destroyed, but she'd still wanted to stay indoors and recuperate. Only an extended speech by Batgirl had gotten her out of the dorms and back onto Metropolis's streets with the others, all clad in winter coats and boots and holding thick books.

"Caroling!" said Batgirl, trying not to let desperation infect her voice. "Look, this is something we can't screw up. We've got our songbooks, we've got thermoses of hot chocolate, and I've got a map showing us the optimal route through this neighborhood. We'll go, we'll sing some songs, and we'll feel cheerful. Okay?"

The other girls looked at each other, and then back at the decidedly non-cheerful Barbara. "I don't think it's working," said Raven.

"Well, that's because we haven't started singing yet!" urged Batgirl. "Come on!"

They walked through the quiet residential neighborhood on the north side of Metropolis. As they moved, Supergirl and Batgirl pulled slightly ahead of the others, and Supergirl smiled. "Have you ever done pageants or caroling before?"

"My whole family carols. You?"

"No... I mean, Smallville is so spread out that we'd only be able to sing at a few houses before we'd have to go home again... but I've helped out in the pageants. I'm not great at singing, but when there are a couple dozen of us, you can't hear any one person, you know? And it was super fun to stand there and sing the carols with all my friends, and my family watching in the crowd."

"Sounds like a great Christmas," Barbara responded. "And hopefully this one'll be really good too."

Before Kara could respond, they reached the first house. Another set of carolers was just leaving, and Barbara quickly got her friends into a line. "Alright!" she said. "One, two, three, and...!"

They made it through "O Holy Night" and "Good King Wenceslas" before Kara pulled Batgirl aside. "Um, how much longer are we going to be at this house?" she asked. "I'm getting kind of cold."

"Well... uh, we have a few more songs... but this is only the first house," Batgirl warned. "I mean, we've got a whole bunch more to do."

Kara blanched. "I don't suppose there's a few stops along the way to warm up?"

"Not really. I mean, it's pretty late, most of the stores and stuff are closed by now." Batgirl paused. "You said you liked singing, though."

"I do! I mean, I do when it's in Pastor Ross's nice, warm church. Or at home with Ma and Pa around the fireplace." Kara blushed. "But it's really cold out here, and snow's getting in my boots, so...?"

Barbara resisted the urge to scream. "Let's just get through these next couple songs and see how we feel, okay?"

Kara slowly nodded and the two girls fell back in line. "Alright!" Barbara announced. "Now for an old classic. Everyone, let's do Jingle Bells!"

The girls began to sing, but Barbara quickly realized they weren't in time anymore. It was Kara, she realized. Kara was rushing the song to get through it faster. And while she started out just a couple words ahead of the others, soon she was a line ahead, then two, and then...

A tangled jumble of syllables blasted out of Kara's mouth as her vocal chords, powered by her Kryptonian super-speed, blasted all the words together in a fraction of a second. The result was a harsh, dissonant shriek that forced Barbara and the others to plug their ears, sent the people in the house sprawling back into their room, and--mere moments later--broke every glass window directly in front of Kara.

Everyone stared at Supergirl, who could only blush. "Oops," she said. "Um, sorry?"

#

Barbara stumbled into her dorm room, tossed her hat and coat into the corner, and collapsed face-first on her bed with a loud groan. "This sucks!" she ranted into her pillow. "This really, really, really sucks."

"What sucks?" Barbara rolled over to see Harleen sitting in her own bed. She was wearing her usual multi-colored jester outfit and was playing some kind of game on her phone. "Weren't you takin' the aliens out to show 'em the true meaning of Christmas?"

"I was, but everything went wrong. Big Barda couldn't handle the mall crowds, and Starfire and Raven had problems with the decorations, and Kara got cold, and... it all fell apart." Batgirl pressed her pillow deeper into her face. "I had no idea Christmas could be so hard."

"Yeah, if you're not ready, it can really sneak up and knock ya on your keister," mused Harleen as she pressed a series of buttons on her phone. 

"Ugh." Barbara shook her head. "I'm not going to give up. I'll find a way to make sure they all have a really good Christmas. I just... need to figure out how." She groaned again. "And you too, of course."

Harleen glanced over. "What about me?"

"I said I'd make sure there was a Christmas celebration on campus so you could have fun too even if the stupid mayor isn't letting you go home. And at least you've had big Christmases before, so you already know what's going on." Batgirl rolled over. "I can probably get some kind of food delivered, and--"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Harleen waved a hand dismissively. "I'll figure somethin' out myself."

Batgirl frowned. "I told you earlier I was going to set something up for your--"

"Yeah, and you ran off before I could say don't bother. You should learn ta listen better, Babs. It'd stop a lot of these confusions." Harleen giggled.

Barbara managed not to roll her eyes, though it wasn't easy. "Well, I can't just let you not have a Christmas because of your probation. That wouldn't be right. So I can set up games and food and decorations; why wouldn't you want that?"

"Because I play games and eat fun foods all the time anyways." Harleen turned back to her game and let her tongue stick out as she entered a fresh set of commands. "Only thing I was really lookin' forward to for the holidays was getting to see Moms and Pops and my bro Barry, and now I can't leave campus to see 'em, plus they won’t come here because they’re peeved about the whole ‘broke the mayor’s limo’ thing, so what's the point?"

Batgirl frowned. "That's awful, Harley," she said. "I'm really sorry..."

Before she could finish her sentence, though, she trailed off in thought. When she'd been out with her friends she'd been focused mostly on getting all the Christmas rituals right, but looking back at it, she could remember Startfire talking about the good times she'd had with her sister Blackfire, and Kara discussing how the Kents had done Christmases, and even Barda reminiscing about the adventures she'd had with Lashina. They'd all been more focused on those things than the whetstones, tinsel, and songbooks. Maybe...

Batgirl slowly grinned. "Oh! I get it; I know how to save Christmas!" She jumped over to Harleen and embraced her, then planted a light kiss on her cheek. "Harley, you're a genius!"

Harley blushed scarlet, which on her pale skin gave her an almost candy cane-esque appearance, and managed, "Well, yeah, everyone knows that. What did you--"

"No time! I've got a Christmas to save! Thanks again!" called Batgirl as she ran out the door.

Harleen chuckled to herself before returning to her game. "Guess I'm pretty good with people," she said to herself as she reached the next level. "Huh. Maybe when I get older I oughta be a psychologist or somethin'!"

#

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" 

The other girls exchanged confused looks as Batgirl launched several drones to drop confetti throughout the common area of the dormitory. Finally, Big Barda said, "Are we still doing this?"

"Yes!" enthused Batgirl. "Don't worry. This time I know you're all going to have a great time. Come on, come on!"

She urged Big Barda, Supergirl, Raven, Starfire, and Harley Quinn into the center of the room where there was another tree--a smaller one, without decorations, but bright and lively all the same--and a table laden with eggnog, cookies, and other Christmas foods. Raven looked at all the unfamiliar things blankly and said, "Okay, we saw it. Can I go back to bed now?"

"You haven't seen everything. For instance..." Batgirl turned to a closed door that led to another hallway. "Okay, you can come in now!"

All the girls turned in that direction as well, and a few seconds later they could hear approaching footsteps. Then the door opened and--

"KANNIFSTER!" Starfire jumped up and rocketed across the room to embrace her sister Blackfire, who had just stepped through the doorway, in a huge hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were not leaving Korugar Academy until graduation!"

"I wasn't," drawled Blackfire. "But your little bat friend here took a Boom Tube to Korugar and asked me to be here because apparently it's some fancy Earth holiday."

"And you... just came?" Starfire asked, in a voice indicating that Blackfire didn't usually alter her schedule for simple requests.

Blackfire shook her head. "No, I told her to go away. So she challenged me to a competition in front of all the other students, where the loser had to do a favor for the winner. I said fine, as long as the competition was a duel, because it was obvious your friend didn't have any powers or anything." She frowned. "Except she won anyway, because apparently she spends all her time here learning how to fight people with powers despite not having any."

Batgirl shrugged. "Yeah, I'm pretty super."

"So now I'm here," continued Blackfire. "And--ack!" Starfire had gripped her in another tight hug. "Alright, alright. I'm here all day. You don't need to squeeze me to make me stay."

"I'm squeezing you because I'm happy you're here!" enthused Starfire. "Oh, now we can enjoy the feasting and the decorating of trees and all of Earth's other holiday customs together!"

"Oh joy," drawled Blackfire. But Batgirl was pretty sure she saw genuine happiness behind Blackfire's purportedly disinterested gaze.

"And she's not the only one," Batgirl said as she moved to another door and flung it open. "Look who else is here!"

Supergirl's eyes widened. "Ma? Pa?" she gasped as she saw her adoptive parents. "But I thought you still had that house to build."

"Batgirl flew down in her jet with a bunch of gizmos that helped us get it up faster than we'd expected," said Martha Kent. "Then she offered to fly us back here so we could get here in time to spend the holiday with you!"

Kara's eyes shone. "That's awesome," she said as she moved forward to give both her parents a big hug. 

"As for you, Big Barda," Batgirl continued. "I wasn't able to get Lashina out of prison. Which is probably for the best, since last time she got out she tried to rob a bunch of banks. But I did get the next best thing. Here." She tossed Big Barda a tablet. "For you."

"What's this?" Big Barda turned on the tablet's screen, then blinked when she saw an image of Lashina in her cell. "Wait, how?"

"Hey Barda," said Lashina, with a little more pep in her voice than Batgirl would have guessed the prisoner had. "Your buddy helped the warden recapture the Double Trouble twins after they broke out last week, so the warden agreed to let me talk to you today. And look." She gestured at a small table in her cell that held a respectable Christmas spread. "I even get a little Christmas feast of my own."

Big Barda grinned. "Nice!" she said, sitting down on a couch with the tablet. "It's... it's good to see you again Lash."

"We could see each other every day if you broke me outta here."

Barda blushed. "You know I can't do that. Unless, you know, you were to turn to the hero side like I did?" Her voice grew slightly pleading. "I could put in a good word for you. And then you wouldn't need to be in there, and we could fight side-by-side just like old times?" 

Lashina said something quietly which Batgirl couldn't here, but Barda seemed pleased. "Okay, sure. Just think about it. That's all I'll ask. Meantime, wanna catch up?"

Raven sighed, and Batgirl turned to see her trying to slip away. "Hey, Raven, hold up!" she said as she rushed over to the witch. "I didn't forget you."

"You wouldn't need to," said Raven quietly. "There's nobody I know who I'd want to spend a 'holiday' with. Father didn't let me have any friends, and all my other relatives are as crazy as he is..."

"Have you ever heard of the concept of a 'found family?'" Batgirl said as she led Raven over to the table of food. "Just because you might not have had any family or friends coming into Super Hero High, that doesn't mean you can't make any while you're here. And I know you've been getting along well with Supergirl and Starfire in particular."

"Yeah, but..."

"But nothing," Batgirl instructed. She filled a plate with food for Raven, then led her to the couch where the Kents and Supergirl were catching up. Near them, floating above two overstuffed armchairs, Starfire was describing some story to Blackfire, the latter of whom was trying to look disinterested but couldn't quite stop flashes of interest and affection from breaking through her face now and then. 

Pa Kent looked over as Batgirl led Raven to their couch. "Well, hello!" he said cheerfully. "You must be Batgirl and Raven; Kara's told us so much about you. Grab a seat!" 

Raven sat down uneasily. "Look, I'm not really into holidays..." she began. But Kara's good cheer was infectious, and Batgirl saw a hint of a smile beginning to form on her face.

"That's okay," said Pa Kent. "We won't force you if you don't want to do any holiday things. But we were planning on singing a couple holiday songs--just a little tradition we have--and you're welcome to join us. Again, only if you want."

Kara beamed. "As long as we do it in a nice toasty room, I don't think I'll break anymore glass. So how about it, Raven? Want to give it a try?"

The goth slowly smiled as she looked at the Kents. "Alright," she said at last. "One try."

Batgirl beamed to herself, but there was still one more person she had to get involved, so she quickly excused herself and hurried back to her room. "Hey, Harley," she said. "You sure you don't want to celebrate?"

"Naw," said Harleen, who was sitting at her desk and working on what looked like a customized boxing glove. "Like I said, ain't nothin' to party about without the fam, so--"

Batgirl tapped a button on her communicator, and moments later there was a knock at the door. Batgirl opened it up to reveal Harley's parents and brother.

Harleen's mouth dropped. "But wait--you guys said you were mad about my probation thing and wouldn't come!"

Mrs. Quinzel blushed. "Well, ah... that was before your friend Batgirl tracked us down. She showed us surveillance video she got of the fight, and when we saw it, we realized you weren't trying to prank the mayor. You were trying to stop that crocodile man. It clearly wasn't your fault and we shouldn't be... punishing you... as if it were."

"So given that, we decided--since you can't go home this year--that we'd visit you instead," said Mr. Quinzel. "If you'll have--"

Harleen sprang across the room and enveloped her family in a gigantic hug. "Course I want you here!" she yelled. "What're we waitin' for? I bet there's food and presents and all kinds of good stuff out there!" She began to push her family towards the door to the common area. "Thanks Babs! You're the bestest!"

"I know!" chirped Barbara, and for the first time all break, she felt like she'd done something really good.

#

The party lasted for hours, and as it neared its end, Barbara excused herself and went outside to get a little fresh air.

"You did good, Barbara," she told herself. "Everyone's happy. And in a few days you can go home to see daddy and--"

"Babs?"

Barbara's mouth dropped and she turned on her heel to see her father. "Dad?" she managed. "But I thought you were still in Star City?"

"I was. But a little bit ago I opened my door and--you'll never believe this--Superman was there. He said there was a holiday party here at Super Hero High, and that he'd be happy to fly me here for the party and then back when we're done. Is the party still going?"

From inside, Barbara heard a joyful shout of "YAHTZEE!" It sounded like Starfire, she thought. She'd gotten herself, her sister, the Kents, and Raven involved in the surprisingly entertaining game, and she certainly seemed to have a knack for it. "Sure. Although... Superman really just agreed to fly you here? For no reason?"

Jim Gordon smiled. "Well, there was one other thing. He asked me to thank you for looking out for Kara. He knew this would be her first Christmas outside of Smallville, and... he's happy she's having a good time."

"How would he know what--oh, right, super-hearing." Barbara smiled ruefully, hoping he wasn't mad about how she'd accidentally made Kara shriek while caroling. "Well, I'm glad he's happy. And the party's not over yet. Come on, if we hurry I think we can snag the last of the really good cookies, and that incredible eggnog Ma Kent whipped up."

She pushed open the door and led her father back into the bright warmth of her Super Hero High dorm, and as the door swung closed behind her she smiled to herself.

"Best. Christmas. Ever," she said, and then hurried on with her father to get back to the fun.


End file.
